In the spring of 2020, a new coronavirus caused an epidemic that swept the country. On the afternoon of February 21, the School of Marxism held the 2nd online social sciences book club meeting on the app of WeLink used by USST, to encourage students of the school to review and reflect on the epidemic. The online meeting was hosted by Hu Yunhai, the head of the academic department of the School of Marxism and the leader of the Social Sciences and Humanities Book Club. It was attended by Xia Xiaohua, Deputy Secretary of the CPC branch of the school, all the members of the academic department and some postgraduate students 2018 and 2019.
At the meeting, Li Hao’nan shared his feelings with humorous yet thought-provoking words. With five key words “balance, exploration, civilization, technology, dialectics”, he explained the relationship “between microorganisms and humans”. He made it clear that it was the human spirit of exploration that made humans exposed to the viruses more often. Li wondered why few people paid attention to books such as Plagues and Peoples in China. Then he concluded that ”In the face of the plague, technology is not enough. We must treat people’s inner demons”.
Wang Tingdi thought the book focused on the impact of the plague on the world and humans. Devastating as the plague was, the Chinese power from the power of the country, society and people shall defeat the plague. For Zhu Jiahui, she compared the book with A Planet of Viruses and believed that human history was the history of fighting against viruses. Humans would not be defeated by viruses and China would defeat the coronavirus at last. Wang Min explained that the dialectical relationship between micro and macro parasites. From the perspective of Marxist theory, Wang explained that the relationship between humans and plagues was also the relationship between humans and nature, and even the relationship between humans.
The discussion was heated. People spoke enthusiastically and exchanged ideas. Li Hao’nan asked a series of questions. Would there be plagues in the future? Did the relationship between humans and plagues finally belong to the relationship between humans? How could we put the unified thinking into practice? The questions took the meeting to a new level.
At last, Xia Xiaohua made some concluding remarks. The online book club meeting was both practical and thought-provoking. The sharing and discussion showed the wisdom of Marxists and the charm of people undertaking ideological and political work. The event was focused, so it was especially enlightening. The online book club should certainly go on.
